If you suffer from a painful condition where acidic liquid is regurgitated from your stomach back into your esophagus, you may have GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease, also known as GERD or acid reflux. Most people call this chronic condition acid reflux, which is easier to say than GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease and is very descriptive. Acid from your stomach, along with pepsin and bile from the duodenum, is regurgitated, or refluxed, back into the esophagus, causing discomfort.

With a name like acid reflux, it is no surprise that the liquid being regurgitated into the esophagus has acid in it, but you may not be aware that it also contains pepsin. Pepsin is a digestive enzyme, meaning it breaks down proteins in the stomach. The liquid may also contain a bit of bile that has backed up into the stomach from the duodenum. However, the pepsin and bile don

Quite a few people say that acid reflux attacks only happen at night. Although they don't feel any discomfort, they are probably actually also having bouts of GERD during the day. However, because they are standing up or sitting, the acid usually is just sliding right back down into their stomachs and they aren't having any of the symptoms that they experience during the night time hours. To control the pain of acid reflux, most people are able to rely on over the counter products.

For pregnant women, acid reflux can be much more intense. Because of fluctuating hormones and pressure on the abdomen from the growing fetus, Women who normally don

Over the counter medications such as Pepsid, Protonix, and Prilosec are easily available at most drug stores. Despite the fact that they can be purchased without a prescription, they are very effective in controlling acid reflux symptoms. However, they will not cure you. GERD is chronic, which means that it does not go away with treatment. It will continute to affect you throughout your life, but these medications can help you weather attacks with very little discomfort. If these medications don't provide relief, you should talk to your doctor about other treatments.